Construction of Deerfield Place housing complex underway

Wednesday

Work on Deerfield Place, a 156 apartment and townhome complex adjacent to Schuyler Commons on Trenton Road, began late last month.

UTICA — After a delay of several months, construction on a $29.6 million housing project has started in North Utica.

Work on Deerfield Place, a 156 apartment and townhome complex adjacent to Schuyler Commons off Trenton Avenue, began late last month.

That comes after Bill Flanigan — a representative of Troy-based The United Group of Companies Inc. that is developing the project — said in June 2015 that construction would hopefully begin in the fall of that year. Then in November, Flanigan said construction was anticipated in the spring.

“The delay was caused due to final design, financing and the permitting process, which is common during the development process,” said Corinne Ellis, a spokeswoman for The United Group.

The company previously developed and completed Schuyler Commons, a community for active independent seniors 55 and older, as part of Colonial Square in 2008.

Deerfield Place is expected to consist of garden-style apartments and townhomes with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. According to figures offered a year ago, rents could range from $1,000 to $1,700 a month.

There also will be a community clubhouse on the property with a fitness center, outdoor swimming pool, large community lounge room and management offices.

“We anticipate a 24-month total construction period with an initial 16 townhouse units potentially ready for occupancy by the end of 2016,” Ellis said. “They will be followed by approximately 24 to 40 units coming every four months thereafter.”

Ellis said that the company's market research for Utica showed a "substantial pent-up demand for new, first-class rental housing along with the improving business growth prospects throughout the Mohawk Valley.

"Additionally, this site is in close proximity to the growth of nanotechnology that is expected to expand at SUNY (Polytechnic Institute)," she said.

There are a couple of other major housing projects planned in the city:

* Watertown-based Purcell Construction Corp. is planning to build a 129-unit housing complex that is expected to consist of two three-story buildings and one two-story building on 5.5 acres of land on nearby Whitesboro Street.

* Hayner Hoyt, a commercial construction company from Syracuse, is developing the former ConMed property at 310 Broad St. into mixed use, including apartments and office space. The thINCubator, which is overseen by the Mohawk Valley Community College Foundation, and the college’s masonry and carpentry programs also have moved into space in the complex.

Gary Thurston, Hayner Hoyt CEO and chairman, said Tuesday his company is in the process of finishing its design for the main building and hopes to start work on the apartments in September or October.

“We want to be ready to rent apartments late spring,” Thurston said.

Thurston said some sort of commercial office space is planned for the first floor. The plan also calls for 24 units — a mix of one and two bedrooms — for the upper three floors and maybe one to three apartments on the first floor.

It is too early to know who the commercial tenant might be, Thurston said, adding he doesn’t anticipate much difficulty in getting the space rented.

“We were looking to do something in Utica and looking for a storefront really,” Thurston said. “One of my trips down I came across the Broad Street property … and then I looked at it two or three more times and then a plan clicked.”

Brian Thomas, the city’s commissioner of urban and economic development, said that in order to attract new residents to the city, a variety of housing styles and options for different price points and income levels in necessary.

“If you look at the majority of our housing, most of it is fairly dated and much of it was constructed pre-1970s, 1960s,” Thomas said. “So, I think to have newly constructed housing on the market and available to attract new residents is something that’s very important.”

Follow @OD_Gerould on Twitter or call him at 315-792-4995.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.